In general, a communication network is architecturally split of into a user equipment (terminals) side and a network infrastructure side. The user equipment is the equipment used by the users of the communication network to access services of the communication network. The user equipment comprises a radio interface to the network infrastructure. The network infrastructure comprises physical network elements, which perform various functions required to terminate the radio interface and to support service requirements of the users. The infrastructure is a shared resource that provides services to a plurality of authorized end users within its coverage area.
The network infrastructure is controlled by configuration parameters that are set for every network element individually. For example, a base station may have several hundreds of configuration parameters that represent information such as base station identity, transceiver power, handover control parameters, frequency channel configuration, antenna tilt and so forth. Configuration of these parameters is determined in a network design phase (before the network is taken into use) and in network optimization phase (carried out from time to time after the network has been taken into use). The purpose of network design and optimization is to, within a defined budget, produce the best possible network infrastructure and configuration to serve network operator's business ambitions in short and medium term. A poor setting of parameters may result in poor quality of service experienced by subscribers (client's of a network operator or service provider). This in turn leads to operator's and service provider's loss of revenue through subscriber churn, call drops and blocking.
One step of the network design process is to find optimal configuration parameters for the network infrastructure. For example subscriber (end user) behavior has an impact on, what kind of configuration suits best for a particular network or a particular part of a network.
A problem in finding optimal configuration parameters arises, when subscriber behavior on a certain area tends to vary a lot, and no single network element configuration is optimal to meet all possible conditions. For example, massive outdoor events or sports events are typical examples where these kinds of problems occur. During such an event the network capacity requirements in the area can be of completely different scale than normally.
Earlier, the problem has been solved either
1) by choosing a configuration that meets the worst-case scenario, or
2) by choosing a compromise between the worst case scenario and normal situation, such that the configuration does not fully address the worst-case scenario but also does not waste network resources too much in normal conditions.
Both of these options have their drawbacks:
1) If a configuration that meets the worst-case scenario is chosen, the problem is that the network becomes over-dimensioned for normal traffic conditions. This approach quickly accumulates capital expenses (CAPEX) in the form of hardware investments when used as a common dimensioning strategy.2) Choosing a compromise results in the problem that in the worst-case scenario the available network capacity cannot serve subscriber demand. Subscribers will experience call drops or are unable to make or receive calls. This has a direct impact on operator's revenue.
Hence, there is a need to provide new approach to handle network configuration which would avoid and/or mitigate the problems associated with the present solutions.